Wreckers



' E. E. CLINE March 13, 1962 WRECKERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 25, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS E. E. CLINE WRECKERS March 13, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Original Filed April 25, 1956 INVENTOR Zkfll. Jlzfie,

ATTORNEYS March 13, 1962 E. E. CLENE 3,024,918

WRECKERS Original Filed April 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS E. E. CLINE March 13, 1962 WRECKERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed April 25, 1956 ATTORNEYS iinite BfiZ ifilh Patented Mar. I3, 1932 thee 3,024,918 WPJECKERS Earl E. Cline, Qhattanocga, Tenn, assignor to Ernest Holmes Company, Chattanooga, Tenn, a corporation of Tennessee )riginal appiicatien Apr. 25, was, Ser. No. 589,543, new Patent No. 2,92%,557, dated Mar. 15, 196i). Divided and this application Aug. 31, 1959, Ser. No. 337,031

1 (Jiaim. (Cl. 2l2--8) The present invention relates to Wreckers and similar hoisting apparatus and more particularly to those of the type adapted to be mounted on a truck or similar vehicle and to be employed for handling disabled motor vehicles and for performing hoisting, pulling, towing and various other operations.

One of the general objects of the invention is to provide a novel structure of this type which is relatively simple in its construction and may be employed with facility for lifting or towing disabled vehicles and for performing other operations such as those performed generally by Wreckers and similar hoisting apparatus, and which is sufficiently stable to pull back on to a highway vehicles which have left a side thereof and are disabled.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide means for stabilizing a wrecker and preventing side slip thereof while the service cable is extended from a side of the wrecker and is employed for pulling an automobile or other vehicle back on to a highway, thus providing the wrecker with sufficient stability for such an operation, especially when mounted and operated on a relatively light weight truck.

Another more particular object of the invention is to provide a wrecker having a boom comprising a pair of boom sections which are connected together rigidly at their outer ends, the boom being mounted for adjustment at different inclinations, and provided with simple means for raising or lowering it and for supporting it at different desired inclinations to facilitate lifting heavy objects into or lowering them from the body of the truck on which the wrecker is mounted.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more particularly described, the features of novelty being set forth more particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a wrecker to which the present invention is shown applied, rigged for lifting, towing and similar operations;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan of the wrecker as shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of the wrecker adapted for pulling from a side thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a detail sectional view of the pivotal mounting for the lower end of one of the boom sections;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the outer end of the boom, on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 6 is a detail vertical longitudinal section on the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical transverse section on the line 77 in FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner of using the wrecker in recovering an automobile from a side of a highway.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals in the several views.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, 10 represents generally the floor or platform of a truck which may be of any conventional engine driven type provided air preferably with a power take-off 12 driven from the transmission thereof and which may be of any well known construction, and 14 represents a winch for winding and unwinding the service cable 16. The winch is power driven from the take-off 12 through any suitable gearing 18, which may be of the worm type, and through a chain 2!) which connects the take-off and gearing.

A rigid frame 22 having downwardly diverging side members 23 is mounted on and secured to two transverse angle irons 24 fixed to the truck frame, and extending transversely of the truck, a pair of braces 26 being welded or otherwise secured at their upper ends to the top of the frame 22 and inclined. rearwardly and downwardly and secured as by brackets 28 which may be secured to the frame of the truck.

The boom comprises a pair of boom sections 30 which are preferably of the trussed-type each having a tubular central member 32. One end of each boom section is pivotally connected to the truck to swing about a vertical axis provided by a pivot pin 34, the axes of the pivot pins at the opposite sides of the wrecker being in alignment, and the pivot pin at each side of the wrecker being supported by a bracket 36 which is welded or otherwise fixed to the transverse angle iron 24 secured to the frame of the truck. The pivot pin 34- at each side of the wrecker passes through the bracket 36 and through a fork 38 having a stem 40 which is pinned or otherwise fixed in the lower end of the respective boom section. The lower ends of the boom sections are thus pivotally supported to swing in parallel planes to vary the inclination of the boom and thereby adjust the height of its outer, or upper end.

The boom sections converge toward their upper or other ends, and are rigidly connected together. Preferably and as shown, a tube 42 is interposed between the outer ends of the boom sections, the adjacent inner sides of the tubular members 32 of the boom sections being preferably pressed to formtherein partially cylindrical recesses to receive the tubular member 42, and a plate 43 is fitted over the outer end of the member 42 and is welded thereto and to the upper ends of the members 32 of the boom sections to secure them together.

A sheave 44 is mounted at the rear or upper end of the boom over which the service cable 16 passes. This sheave is journalled on a pin 46 which is supported by and extends between the sides of a yoke 48, the sheave 44 being thereby supported for rotation between the sides of the yoke, and the service cable passing between the sides of the yoke. The yoke serves as a guide for the service cable which prevents displacement of said cable from the groove of the sheave 44, but which permits removal of the service cable therefrom when desired for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. For this purpose, the sides of the yoke are provided with lugs 50 which extend alternately from the opposite sides of the yoke to overlie the space between its sides and are spaced apart to confine the service cable and prevent its disengagement from sheave 44, these lugs permitting removal of the service cable from said sheave by unthreading it from the lugs.

The sheave yoke 48 is preferably swivelled in the outer end of the boom structure to permit operation of the service cable laterally or at any other angle from the end of the boom. For this purpose, the sheave yoke is provided with a stem 52 which is insertable axially into the tube 42 and is rotatable therein. The stem 52 is formed with a pair of collars 54 and 56 which are of a diameter to fit rotatably in the tube 42, the collar 56 being flattened at one side, as indicated at 58, and the stem 52 of the yoke is provided at the same side thereof at which the flattened portion 58 of the collar 56 is located with a lug 6t) adapted to bear against the inside of the tube 42 and thereby cooperate with the collars 56 and 54 to maintain the yoke stem 52 centered in the tube 42. One or more pins 62 are fixed in and project downwardly from the upper side of the tube 42 to cooperate with the collar 56, as shown in FlGURES 6 and 7, and thereby prevent displacement of the yoke stem axially from the tube 42, but by rotating the stem 52 a half revolution from its position as shown in said figures, the flattened side of the collar 56 will be brought into line with the pins 62, and the yoke stem 52 may then be inserted into or removed from the tube 4-2, but the yoke stem will be locked in the tube 42 by the pins 62 while the yoke occupies its normal position as shown in FIG- URES l, 6 and 7.

The present invention provides novel and simple means for adjusting the height or inclination of the boom and for securing the boom in its different adjusted positions. Such means comprises a looped cable 64 having a portion intermediately of its length extended around a sheave 66 journalled in a yoke 68 the intermediate portion of which extends through a slot 7% in the plate 43 welded or otherwise fixed to the outer end of the boom, and the ends of the cable 64 are provided with hooks 74 which are engageable respectively in slots 76 formed in and spaced at different heights in the downwardly diverging side members 23 of the frame 22. The portions of the cable 64 between their hooks and the sheave 66 pass around sheaves 78 journalled on pins 86 fixed to the upper portions of the frame side members 23. By pulling down on the ends of the boom cable 64 while there is no load on the service cable 16, the boom can be raised to a desired height, and by engaging the hooks 74 in appropriate slots in the frame side members 23, the boom will be supported in the raised position to which it is adjusted, or by disengaging the hooks 74 from the slots 76 in the frame side members 23 while there is no load on the service cable, the boom may be lowered into a desired adjusted position, and by engaging the hooks 74 in the appropriate slots 76 in the frame side members 23, the boom will be supported in its lowered position.

Such manual adjustments of the height or inclination of the booms is convenient for loading engines, transmissions or other relatively heavy objects into the body of the wrecker and for unloading such objects therefrom, as such adjustments position the sheave 44 either above or beyond the rear end of the truck body and directly above the object to be lifted. If it is desired to lift an object into the body of the truck, the hook 17 on the service cable 16 is engaged with such object while the boom is lowered, power is applied to the winch 1 to wind the service cable until a wire rope clamp or other enlargement 19 on the service cable contacts with the lower side of the yoke 48. The space between the sides of this yoke is too narrow to permit the rope clamp to pass therethrough, and consequently further winding of the service cable will cause it to raise the boom to the extent necessary to bring the sheave 44 into a position above the truck body, or substantially so, whereupon winding of the service cable is stopped, and the hooks 74 on the ends of the boom cable 64 are lowered and engaged in the appropriate slots 76 in the frame side members 23. The boom will then be supported in its raised position by the boom cable 64 independently of the service cable, and the winch may then be operated by power tounwind the service cable and thereby lower the object into the truck body. In order to unload an object from the truck body, the winch may be operated by power to lift the object from the truck body, while the boom is supported in its relatively raised position by the boom cable until the cable clamp 19 contacts the sheave yoke 48 and raises the boom sufficiently to permit disengagement of the hooks 74 on the ends of the boom cable 64 from the slots in the frame side members 23, whereupon the winch may be operated by power to unwind the service cable and thereby permit lowering of the boom by gravity until its rear end projects beyond the rear end of the truck body. The hooks 74 on the ends of the boom cable 16 may then be engaged in the appropriate slots 76 in the frame side members to support the boom in such lowered position by the boom cable, after which the winch may be operated by power to unwind the service cable and thereby lower the object behind the truck.

Swivelling the sheave yoke 48 at the outer end of the boom permits loads to be pulled laterally or at any other angle relatively to the boom, but in order to enable greater side pulls of the service cable to be exerted, such for example as required usually in recovering and returning to a highway an automobile which has left a side of the highway and is disabled, a sheave 82 located between the winch and the sheave 4 d and around which the service cable 16 passes, is swivelled to the upper portion of the frame so that it will swing with the service cable to conform with various positions which the service cable may assume when extended laterally of the wrecker after being unthreaded from the yoke and removed from the sheave 44. The reaction of the load or pull on the service cable will thereby be sustained directly by the rigid frame of the wrecker. This sheave 32 is journalled on a pin 84 supported by a yoke 86 having a vertical pivot pin 88 which is mounted between a pair of plates 99 and 92 welded or otherwise fixed to the upper portion of the frame 22 centrally or at a point between its sides, and the yoke 86 of this sheave is provided with a service cable guide 94 having an aperture through which the service cable passes and is pivotally mounted on the journal pin 84 of the sheave 82 so that this guide will swing vertically to conform with different inclinations at which the service cable may extend from the wrecker according to the relative heights of the wrecker and the object to be pulled by the service cable. In order to pull a disabled automobile A or other object located at a side of a highway in a direction laterally of the wrecker, the service cable 16 is unthreaded from the lugs 50 and removed from the sheave 44 and swung laterally of the wrecker so that it extends directly from the swivelled sheave 82, and the hook 17 on the service cable may be attached to the object to be pulled if the load is relatively light, but in order to provide greater pull, the service cable is passed around a sheave 35 in a sheave block 87 having a hook 89 which may be attached to the disabled automobile or other object and the hook 17 engaged in an eye 91 in a lug 93, as shown in FIG- URE 8, one of these lugs being firmly fixed to each side of the upper portion of the frame 22.

The construction just described transmits the reaction to the pull on the service cable directly to the rigid frame of the wrecker, but it has been found that when pulling a disabled automobile back onto a highway from a side of a wrecker mounted on a light weight truck, there is a very considerable tendency for the truck to slip sideways on the highway or other surface on which it rests toward the load being pulled, notwithstanding that an outboard leg such as has been previously used may be employed in connection with a wrecker, and the present invention provide means for preventing such side slip. Such means comprises an outboard leg 109 which is provided with means at its upper end for removably mounting it on one or the other side of the upper portion of the frame of the wrecker, and is provided at its other end with a foot 102 which is preferably of substantial area to obtain a firm support on the ground or other surface at the side of the wrecker at which the object to be pulled is located, and the foot of the outward leg is provided with a hole 104 through which a rod or other stake 106 is driven into the ground or other supporting surface. The foot is preferably carried by a telescopic section 108 of the leg so that it maybe extended to rest on the ground at a suitable distance from the side of the wrecker to sustain the side pull exerted on the wrecker, spring actuated lock pin 110 being provided for securing the section 108 in its desired extended position. The upper end of the leg is provided with means for engaging it with the upper portion of the wrecker frame 22, preferably substantially at the same level with the sheave 82 so that the upper end of the leg will he substantially in line with the side pull applied to the service cable. For this purpose, the upper end of the leg 100 is provided with a cap or head 112 and an eye 114 secured thereto and projecting upwardly therefrom for engagement with the lug 93 fixed at one or the other side of the upper portion of the frame of the wrecker, and each lug 93 is formed into an upwardly directed hook 95 the under side 116 of which is curved laterally and upwardly substantially concentric with the bight of the hook. The hook 95 of the lug 93 to which the eye 114 on the leg 100 is to be attached is adapted to enter the eye 114 while the leg is swung upwardly at its lower end into substantially the position indicated by the dotted lines in FIGURE 3 after which the leg may be swung downwardly to engage the foot 102 thereon with the ground and the foot of the leg is then staked to the ground by the stake 106. As the leg is swung downwardly to engage the ground, while the eye 11 4 is engaged in the bight of the hook, the head 112 on the leg moves concentrically around the underside 116 of the lug 93, thereby maintaining the eye 1 14 in engagement with the bight of the hook about which the eye pivots. Engagement of the head 112 on the leg with the underside 116 of the lug 93 sustains downward thrust imposed by this lug on the leg under the reaction of the tension applied to the service cable while pulling a load and prevents displacement of the upper end of the leg from the lug 93 under such reaction. By providing a lug 93 at each side of the wrecker frame, a single leg 100 may be used at either side of the wrecker, according to the side thereof at which the load is to be pulled.

' This is a division of my copending application Serial No. 580,548 filed April 25, 1956 for Wreckers, now Pat. No. 2,928,557.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

In a wrecker, a rigid frame adapted to be fixed upon a vehicle body, vertical side members on said frame, a boom pivoted at its lower end on said frame and comprising two rigid beams diverging from their lower pivoted ends to upper end formations providing a longitudinally extending socket open at the upper end of the beam, a. service cable pulley rotatably mounted on the upper end of said frame in alignment with said socket longitudinally of said body, a yoke mounting a service cable sheave mounted to swivel in said socket, a service cable extending through said sheave and over said pulley down to the lower end of said frame, a winch operably connected to the lower end of said service cable, an enlargement on said service cable beyond said sheave adapted to engage said yoke and lift the boom when said winch is actuated to pull the service cable in one direction, means mounting a second sheave directly on the upper end of the boom independently of but adjacent said socket, a flexible boom support cable having an intermediate portion passing through said second sheave, laterally spaced pulleys on the upper ends of said side members disposed at opposite sides of said service cable pulley receiving and directing downwardly the opposite ends of said boom support cable, a series of vertically spaced openings in each side member, and hooks on the opposite ends of said boom support cable for selective attachment into said openings for determining the lowest boom angle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,517,547 Eckberg Dec. 2, 1924 1,732,047 Holmes Oct. 15, 1929 1,975,359 Garson Oct. 2, 1934 2,625,275 Ashton Jan. 13, 1953 2,637,447 Holmes May 5, 1953 

